The Georgian Translation of the Menaion (First Redaction): The Early Constantinopolitan Tradition of the Commemorations of Saints

Some Georgian manuscripts containing the text of the Menaion, dated to the beginning of the 11th century, demonstrated their transitional character between Jerusalem and Constantinople practices and were identified as the first version (redaction) of the Menaion. Observing the Calendar of these manuscripts revealed that a part of the commemoration/feasts coincided with the Jerusalem practice, and a part with the characteristic of the liturgical practice of the Constantinople service. At the same time, the study of the Calendar revealed one part of the commemoration that is not found in any other Georgian liturgical collections and is a feature of the first redaction. The Georgian manuscripts of the first redaction of the Menaion preserve for us the interesting path that the hymnographic collections underwent on their way toward Constantinopolitanization.